1. Technical Field
This invention relates to mailboxes and, more particularly, to an adjustable mailbox platform for that can be extended and retracted to facilitate vehicular delivery of mail when snow has accumulated in front of the mailbox.
2. Prior Art
A problem that frequently arises in rural areas is that the delivery of mail becomes difficult, if not impossible, after a heavy snow because the mail carriers are unable to reach a customer's mailbox from their vehicles. This condition is aggravated when the roadway is plowed and snow is piled up between the roadway and the post upon which the mailbox is mounted. Often in such situations, the mail carrier cannot bring his vehicle sufficiently close to the mailbox to deliver the mail.
The United States Postal Service has promulgated regulations that require that rural mailboxes be placed where they can be safely and conveniently served by carriers from their vehicles and that customers remove all obstructions that make delivery difficult. This poses a particularly serious problem for elderly and infirm people who cannot physically remove the snow that prevents the mail carrier from delivering the mail. In many northern areas, the temperature may not rise above freezing for weeks, or even months, further prolonging the problem.
Many rural customers also rely upon the mail carrier to pick up their outgoing mail as well as deliver the incoming mail. Treacherous road conditions and long distances to the post office often require rural customers to give their outgoing mail to the mail carrier. This makes it equally important that outgoing mail be picked up so that a customer's bills can be paid and other correspondence sent out. Therefore, it is important for a mail carrier to be able to position his vehicle close enough to not only put the mail into the mailbox, but also to retrieve any outgoing mail.
Accordingly, a need remains for an adjustable mailbox platform that enables a user to extend the mailbox to a point where the mail carrier can easily access it, and then retract the mailbox when weather and road conditions permit.